For the Love of an Idiot

Alone in the desert, a man stood silently blocking out the world around him. He slowly built up the energy for the new technique he was testing. Just as he reached the optimal level, his concentration was shattered. "Hey Vegeta!" a loud, playful voice shouted as Goku suddenly appeared behind him, crushing him in a hug. "Dammit Kakarot." Vegeta growled in frustration, as he pushed the taller saiyan away. "This is the third time this week that you've interrupted me!" he snapped his hair flashing yellow for a brief moment as he placed his hand on Kakarot's chest with the intent of pushing him away. But that brief power up, combined with the energy he had been building up proved to be disastrous. In a split second, Goku was thrown several hundred feet back smashing through every boulders in his path. Vegeta froze for a moment when he saw what he had done. He hadn't meant to do that much damage. "Kakarot, you alright over there?" He asked as he flew to the down saiyan. As he moved closer, Goku still did not move. "Alright, the joke is over idiot. Get up." It wasn't the first time Goku had played dead just to get Vegeta riled up, but this time was different. With his childish personality, Goku was physically incapable of maintaining such a joke for long. "Kakarot?" Vegeta asked as annoyance quickly turned to concern as he knelt beside his counterpart. Gripping Goku by his shoulders, he pulled him into sitting position and pressed his ear to his chest. Vegeta's blood ran cold when he didn't hear a heartbeat. "Kakarot!" He shouted as he shook him, trying to wake him up. "Dammit you idiot." He growled in frustration as he searched Goku's gi, before finding the small pouch of senzu beans. He lightly crushed it between his teeth before placing his mouth on Goku's. Using his tongue he moved the bean to the back of Goku's throat. Holding him close, he rubbed Goku's back waiting for a reaction. "C'mon dumbass. You and I both know it takes a hell of a lot more than this to kill you. So wake up before I really give you a reason to stay dead." Vegeta growled as he fought the rising panic. He let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding when Goku groaned, and limply wrapped an arm around Vegeta. "That hurt." He mumbled into Vegeta's shoulder. "Tt." Vegeta released his grip letting Goku fall backwards. Turning around he sat with his back facing the man he had grown rather fond of. "Maybe next time you'll think before interrupting me." He snapped, though his words came out softer than he intended. As he ignored Goku, he tried to figure out just when things had changed between them. He had always been hellbent on defeating Kakarot, but now...Now things seemed so different. He grunted in surprise when he felt two strong arms wrap around his waist as Goku pulled him onto his lap. "You alright?" Goku asked in concern as he rested his chin on Vegeta's head. "Tt. Seriously? I just killed you and you're asking me if I'm alright. You really are an idiot." Vegeta said as he leaned into Goku's shoulder. "Yeah you did, but you still brought me back, right?" As Goku uttered these words, Vegeta found the answer to his unspoken question. As strong as he was, Goku still had an innocence about him that was rare. One that had to be protected. Make no mistake, Vegeta was still intent on becoming stronger than his counterpart. But now he had a different objective in mind. He had to protect Goku and the only way to do that was to become stronger than him. He grunted in surprise as Goku leaned back pulling Vegeta with him. "Hey Vegeta?" Goku asked through a yawn. "What now?" Vegeta grumbled as he moved to get comfortable in the vice grip that Goku had him in. "Love ya." Vegeta's head snapped up in surprise, but Goku was already asleep. Vegeta found himself smiling as he just shook his head. Kakarot was most certainly an idiot, but he was still Vegeta's idiot. "Love you too." Vegeta whispered softly, his voice so low that it was hard to tell if he had actually spoken. As he closed his eyes, he swore he saw a small smile form on Goku's lips.